[Steve L]

I have noticed an issue over my last few batches that when I cap with my red baron capper, the caps seal ok but do not seem to be "round" on top. They seem to be slightly football shaped. I though maybe the bell was wearing out after 50+ batches so I ordered a new one and it's still the same way. Any ideas?
Thanks!

[69franx]

No real answer, but I saw some of that with my wing capper(s) until I switched to a bench capper. I never noticed any adverse effects compared to bottles that did not look like this, but really only over the short term. The shape may cause a problem in brews that will sit/age for longer periods, maybe

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[bengelbrau]

There are some caps that are just slightly wider than typical... like 0.5mm or so. These give the out of round result you've seen.

[Steve L]

There are some caps that are just slightly wider than typical... like 0.5mm or so. These give the out of round result you've seen.

Very interesting, I wish I'd have thought to try a different cap. I was using LD Carlson O2 caps. Had several logo caps I could've tried. Have to try an empty to see if others crimp different. Thanks for the heads up!

[Steve L]

No real answer, but I saw some of that with my wing capper(s) until I switched to a bench capper. I never noticed any adverse effects compared to bottles that did not look like this, but really only over the short term. The shape may cause a problem in brews that will sit/age for longer periods, maybe

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I've been looking for an excuse to buy a bench capper....
Question, do you HAVE to mount a bench capper or are the bases stable enough to just sit them on the counter and use them?

[69franx]

I have not mounted mine. It rocks a bit if I'm not paying close enough of attention

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[Philbrew]

No real answer, but I saw some of that with my wing capper(s) until I switched to a bench capper. I never noticed any adverse effects compared to bottles that did not look like this, but really only over the short term. The shape may cause a problem in brews that will sit/age for longer periods, maybe

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I've been looking for an excuse to buy a bench capper....
Question, do you HAVE to mount a bench capper or are the bases stable enough to just sit them on the counter and use them?

Attached to a 8" to 12" piece of plywood or board helps a lot and then you can just set them on the counter to bottle.

  OK, I hate wing cappers.

[69franx]

Yeah, what's even worse is I have  a nice piece of plywood, just have not gotten around to mounting it yet

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[santoch]

I hated that you need 3 hands with my wing capper.  I bought a bench capper after my bottling my first batch of glass bottles (I started wiiht Mr Beer). I never mounted mine and there's no need.  Its plenty stable by itself.
This was one of those "you can't afford to buy the cheap one" moments because I ended up buying both. It would have been better to just spend the extra 15 or 20 bucks and buy the bench capper from the beginning.

[69franx]

Agreed, on all counts

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[Steve L]

I inherited my capper from a friend who gave me all of his brewing stuff about 10 years ago. I'm feeling like it might be time for an upgrade.

[Steve L]

UPDATE:
So in the end, my 'out of round' capping issue was indeed the caps. I bought another bag of the exact same caps, LD Carlson silver O2 barrier crown, same type, same bar code. The caps from the new bag did indeed cap perfectly while the caps in question would not. First time I've ever seen either defective caps or wrong caps in the bag. I imagine if it was the wrong caps, they wouldn't fit the bell on my capper so I'm leaning toward a defective batch.

[Lazy Ant Brewing]

Two weeks ago, I bought a Super Agata bench capper.

I tried it out with a few different manufacturer's caps and standard 12-oz bottles and couldn't get it to cap the bottles very tightly.  I did put water in some of the bottles and could turn the bottles upside down without any leakage, but you barely had to exert any force at all to pry the cap off.  I feared that highly carbonated brews would not be safe as easily as the caps came off.

I had purchased it from Great Fermentations in Indianapolis, IN.  I called them and asked about it.  Great customer Service!  They pulled a new one off the shelf, tried it, and reported the same experience I had!  They said it had recently been re-designed ( I don't know about the Super Agata capper, but most re-designs seem to reduce the manufacturer's production cost and the quality of the product) and they would contact the manufacturer about it.

They emailed me a shipping label to return it, and refunded the purchase price. 

In the meantime. I'll be using my wing capper and thinking about what to try next.  I may try to attend some auctions to look for one of the old cappers from the days when every farm wife made and bottled ketchup.